A special panel is asking the Vermont Legislature to commit to a strategy that begins to reverse chronic underfunding of its state colleges and the University of Vermont.

Since 1980, Vermont's annual appropriation for higher education has steadily declined and is now ranked 49th among the states. At the same time, spending on K-12 public schools has soared to the highest per-pupil amount in the nation.

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Last spring, the Legislature agreed to study the options to return to a more equitable balance.

The Vermont higher education funding study committee spent the summer exploring potential new revenue sources and other policy changes intended to make state colleges more affordable.

On Friday, however, a majority of the panel voted to strip more controversial ideas from its final recommendations, including one urging that potential new tax revenue from legalizing marijuana be reserved for college support.

The panel also declined to endorse new restrictions on using taxpayer-funded college grants out of state.

Liz Beatty-Owens, the panel chair, was disappointed.

"We've been underfunding higher education in this state for 30 years and it's time for a radical shift in how we deal with this," Beatty-Owens said. "We've talked about being big, bold and brave. and this isn't big, bold or brave."

The recommendations, which now go back to the Legislature, do urge a new commitment to tying annual state appropriations for higher education to the growth in general fund revenues - plus one percent.

"We spend more in this state to educate a senior in high school than it costs to attend one of the Vermont state colleges," outgoing Vermont State Colleges Chancellor Tim Donovan said. "Is that really the public policy we want? I think it's not in the best interest of the state to do that."